least-work profile That profile whose gradient is just sufficient for the associated geomorphological process to occur with the minimum possible expenditure of energy. An example is a long river profile, whose concave-up form is the shape best suited for the transfer of increasing quantities of water and sediment in accordance with the least-work principle. Such a profile expresses a state of high entropy.

least-work profile That profile whose gradient is just sufficient for the associated geomorphological process to occur with the minimum possible expenditure of energy. An example is a long river profile, whose concave-up form is the shape best suited for the transfer of increasing quantities of water and sediment in accordance with the least-work principle. Such a profile expresses a state of high entropy.